At eight years old, Nancy Brashear wrote her first poem.
She wrote about sitting in the fog on a bench with magical creatures swirling around her—and she’s been composing poetry and prose ever since. As an adult, she published her psychological thriller set in 1962, Gunnysack Hell, this February. She also has published short stories and poems as well as 
writing several unpublished novels. She recently won first place for her poem “Time and Time Again: The Mermaid’s Rite of Passage” in the 2020 Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens First Annual Poetry Contest. Nancy Brashear has enjoyed participating in poetry and short story readings.
Additionally, she has written articles and chapters for academic books, blog reviews for children’s and adolescent literature in The International Literacy Association website, and content for educational publishers—including designing quizzes for textbooks and website content in teaching and literacy.
Holding a Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate University in literacy development, Nancy Brashear is Professor Emeritus from Azusa Pacific University (APU) where she was the former chair of the Department of Teacher Education for twelve years and then worked in the English Department for another eleven years as their specialist in literature for children and adolescents. She has presented workshops and papers on children’s literature, teaching, and literacy all over the world from Costa Rica to England to New Zealand as well as teaching leadership courses in Zimbabwe and Kazakhstan for APU.
When she’s not writing, you can find Nancy teaching an occasional online course for the English Department, mentoring grad students, or reviewing books for all ages and stages in different venues. She met her husband when they were in the eighth grade together, and she’s the proud grandmother of seven talented and independent young girls—some of whom are already budding authors—ranging in age from five to thirteen. Her life is guided by the wisdom found in 1 Corinthians: “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (13:13, NLT).
